


Am I yours? Are you mine?

by NextTrickAnvils



Category: Persona 5
Genre: AU_gust 2020, Akira is best/worst wingman, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward teens being awkward, Background Akira/Haru, Exacerbated by Cognitive Bullshit, F/M, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Spoilers for the Third Semester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25691311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NextTrickAnvils/pseuds/NextTrickAnvils
Summary: The name on Kasumi's arm was Ryuji but the name on Ryuji's was Sumire.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	Am I yours? Are you mine?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the AU_Gust writing challenge. Obviously the prompt was: soulmates.
> 
> Also I thought about this idea and after talking with a friend about it, I had to write it. Also also before you say anything: yes I know I already wrote a soulmate AU for a different Ryuji ship. But A. I asked my friends if they wanted to see me write this idea for Shusumi or Ryusumi and Ryusumi was the winner. And B. Not my fault Ryuji's just so shippable. :P

One morning when Ryuji Sakamoto was thirteen, he burst in his mother’s room shouting, “Ma! Ma! I got a mark!”

Once Manami was awake, she looked over her son’s soulmate mark. Written in elegant script on his upper right arm was the name:  _ Sumire _ .

“What a lovely name.”

“Do… do you think she’ll be nice?”

Manami sighed, she knew that ever since Ryuji’s father left the topic of soulmates had been a difficult one. She never had a problem with her lack of a mark, to her it just meant she’d have to search a little harder. With that said, she knew that others didn’t think the same way and Ryuji always worried whether or not he’d have a mark and whether or not he’d end up with someone who’d hurt him like she did. 

Manami didn’t know this Sumire or what she was like but she did like to think of herself as an optimist.

“Of course she will. You’re my precious baby boy, Ryu-kun. Who could be mean to you?” She said, pulling Ryuji into a hug

“Maaaaaaa!” Ryuji protested despite not actually going against the hug

“I’m sure whoever Sumire is, she’ll be beautiful and kind and you’ll make each other very happy.”

* * *

  
  


Two years later, at fourteen years-old, Sumire Yoshizawa stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Specifically the almost golden looking messy writing on her upper arm.

_ Ryuji _

Kasumi smiled as she looked at her sister’s reflection.   


“I can’t believe you got your soulmark before me! I’m so jealous!”

Sumire wished she could share her sister’s enthusiasm but all she could think of is how unlucky someone must be to be tied with her of all people.

If anyone deserved a soulmate, it was Kasumi. So bright and talented and hopeful. Whoever ended up with her as their soulmate would be so lucky.

“Hey, what do you think this Ryuji-kun is like?” Kasumi asked

“What does it matter? I might not even meet him.”

Kasumi pouted, “Not with that attitude! We’ll be going to high school soon, maybe you’ll get to meet him there!”

Sumire hoped they didn’t. She was enough of a disappointment without destiny trapping someone with her.

One month later, Kasumi smiles at her reflection as she gets herself ready for her first day at Shujin. 

Before putting on her school shirt, Kasumi glances at the name on her upper arm and traces the writing. Something in the back of her mind makes her optimistic that she’ll finally get to meet Ryuji-kun.

* * *

When you find your soulmate, you’ll know.

Ryuji remembers being told this in his first year of Shujin by a senpai of his. But that senpai never really explained how you would know. Something about the mark?

When his soulmark appeared, Ryuji covered it up with armband sleeves or longer sleeve shirts. He had heard horror stories about people seeing a soulmark and pretending to be someone’s soulmate to sucker them. But when his rep went to shit thanks to Kamoshida, Ryuji didn’t really bother covering it up, at least intentionally.

Why would someone waste their time trying to con him? Not like he was rich or famous or somethin’.

Well okay actually he was a little famous now as a phantom thief even if no one knew it cept for the rest of the group.

But that wasn’t the point!

The point was… something strange happened in Hawaii.

While he and Yusuke were trying to look for a good souvenir for Futaba, they noticed some red haired girl talking with Akira.

“Huh?”

“Who’s that?”

Makoto and Ann then showed up and Ann looked like she recognized little Miss. Redhead.

“Ah… sorry to be a bother. I’m Yoshizawa, a first-year. It’s nice meeting you all.”

Suddenly there was this weird feeling in Ryuji’s arm. It kinda felt like… like that feeling when your arm falls asleep except it didn’t suck? Shit, isn’t arm tingling a sign of a heart attack!? No wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Also it felt like, it was in one spot instead of the whole arm… in fact it felt like it was coming from where his soulmark was...

Wait...is this what his senpai was talking about?

Is this… Sumire?

“Oh! You’re that gymnast!” Ann said, finally recognizing her

Oh yeah, Ryuji did hear about some talented gymnast girl who transferred to Shujin. Well mostly he heard about everyone complaining about her getting special treatment from the school for being an honor student. But from Ryuji’s experience, the Shujin Gossip Mill is never to be trusted.

Ryuji listened as Yoshizawa explained that she was here for training for her next gymnastics meet. She seemed the farthest thing from a snob or whatever everyone’s been saying about her. She also kind of reminded him of how he used to be before everything went to shit… okay yeah she was kind of cute too.

“Your dedication to training even when overseas is admirable. We should all learn from your example.”

Ryuji grinned and nodded, “Yup!”

Ann smiled too and wished Yoshizawa good luck on her next meet.

“Thank you! Your kind words may be what keeps me from crying today.”

“Hey… uh… it’s fine if you do cry, though. You know what they say: “what doesn’t thrill ya, makes ya stronger.””

...That was the phrase right? But before Ryuji could rethink that, he realized that they were running out of shopping time and said a quick good-bye to Yoshizawa before rushing to the register lines.

All the while, gripping his arm.

* * *

It was a long trip but Kasumi was happy to be back in Japan. But as much as she would love to relax, she still has that next big meet to practice for. 

She thinks about the good luck charm in her school bag, she knows it’s kind of silly but having it with her really makes her feel like she’ll be able to succeed this time.

_ For our dream, for you, Sumire. _

As she continued walking through the station, she spotted Kurusu-Senpai along with one of his friends. She quickly picked up her pace to go greet them.

“Good morning, Kurusu-Senpai, and… Sakamoto-Senpai, correct?”

She vaguely recalls Kurusu mentioning his friends though she couldn’t recall their first names. Kasumi visibly relaxes as Sakamoto smiles back at her.

“Oh, mornin’. You’re back today too, huh?”

“Yes! It’s good to see you both.” Kasumi replies, trying to ignoring the strange feeling in her arm

She felt it once before back in Hawaii when she met the rest of Senpai’s friends.

“Um, may I join you on the way to school? I want to talk a bit more about the trip- and I want to hear all your stories from Hawaii!”

“You got it! Should I start with all the heroic stuff me and this dude did for the people in Hawaii?”

“Ummm… yes that sounds great!”

Kurusu-Senpai smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t encourage him. The last thing, Ryuji needs is an ego boost.”

“Shaddup man!”

Wait… Ryuji!?

Then this feeling… could it be...

Before she could finish that thought, the boys had finished with their play fighting and started making their way out of the station. Kasumi quickly caught up to them but she kept glancing over at Sakamoto-Senpai.

From that brief time they met in Hawaii, he seemed very nice. And walking and talking with him showed that he was a bit overenthusiastic and a little loud but there are worse things someone can be.

“Oh, I guess I should ask for your first name. I dunno just calling ya “Yoshizawa-San” all the time feels too formal. ‘Specially since you’re a friend of Akira’s and all.”

Was this it? Kasumi will be the first to admit that she’s seen her fair share of romance movies with big dramatic soulmate reveals. She mentally prepares herself as she looks up at him and says, “Sure! It’s Kasumi.”

“...Oh.”

Oh?

“That’s uh… that’s a pretty name.”

That was it? Then again, Kasumi remembers embarrassingly that this isn’t a movie and they are in public. She knew that some people were very private about their soulmarks and preferred waiting for a moment alone before doing a reveal.

Then for a brief moment, Ryuji’s t-shirt sleeve moved slightly and she could see a couple characters on his arm… but…

She recognized the characters as part of Sumire’s name, not hers.

Well… Ryuji isn’t that uncommon a name so Kasumi figured she got the wrong one, that would explain his reaction. But what about the feeling she still has in her arm? Maybe the mark just reacts to anyone with the same name?

_ I found your soulmate, Sumire… I’m sorry you two couldn’t meet… I think you’d have really liked him… if only… wait a minute... _

“Yo, Kasumi!”

“Huh?”

“We’re here, Akira and I are gonna head in, ya want us to walk ya to class?”

“Oh no, I’m fine. Thank you Sakamoto-Senpai and I’ll talk to you later, Kurusu-Senpai! Bye!”

Before either boy could say anything, Kasumi ran off. She paid enough attention to not crash into anyone but her thoughts were confused and fuzzy.

She remembers when a family friend lost her husband and how ever since then, her soulmark, his name had looked like it had been burned. She and Sumire were still young so they didn’t understand why this was. Until their father took them aside and explained that that was just what happens to a soulmark when the other half of the pair passes away.

_ So… why does Sumire’s name still look untouched and pristine? _

A sudden pain shoots through Kasumi’s head. Like there’s something in there trying to get out. But as quickly as it came, it started to fade away. Kasumi takes a moment to take some deep breaths and quickly rights herself.

She’s… overthinking this. Just like the name on her arm belongs to a different Ryuji, clearly the name on his arm belongs to a different Sumire.

Yeah that’s it.

Kasumi overhears the other students saying something about an assembly so she calmly makes her way to the gym and pushes all thoughts of soulmates to the side.

* * *

“You know if I had known what you were trying to do, I would have told you her name.” Akira remarked

“Ryuji’s always gotta do things the hard way.” Morgana added

“This ain’t yer business, cat. I just didn’t want to bother Akira is all.”

“You send me memes in the middle of the night, I think I could handle a random phone call to see if a girl is your soulmate or not.”

Ryuji pouted as he and Akira continued into the school building.

Akira gave a small smile and placed a hand on Ryuji’s shoulder.

“If it makes you feel better, I’m sure your Sumire is somewhere out there and you’ll find her.”

Ryuji smiled back, “I bet I’ll find her before you find your Haru.”

“Oh I don’t know about that, I’ve been quite the social butterfly lately.”

“Okay outside of us, do you hang out with anyone our age? I bet you an extra large beef bowl, I’ll find my soulmate first.”

A few days later, Ryuji lost the bet.

While Ryuji was willing to accept that... something still didn’t feel right. Why did his mark still react when he was close to Yoshizawa?

* * *

Slowly but surely, Sumire was making progress.

If the time she had spent with Kurusu-Senpai hadn’t helped then that moment in Doctor Maruki’s palace (Futaba-Senpai decided to call it a “Re-Awakening”) certainly did.

There were still moments when she felt like maybe Doctor Maruki was right. Maybe she should give up and just go back. Be Kasumi again. But then she thinks of how hard her Senpais fought to save her. She thinks of Kasumi who gave her life to save hers.

...And then there’s one other thing.

“Senpai?”

“Hm?”

“Y-you… I’m so sorry if this is too personal but… you’ve met your soulmate right? And… and you’ve been happy with her right?”

He nods as he places a free hand on his upper arm, “Haru. We couldn’t really start dating until she was able to get her engagement dissolved but after that, yeah we’ve been happy. Why do you ask?”

Sumire took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

“Well… I thought that since you’ve been helping me with everything that I could… ask you...”

Without another word, Sumire unbuttoned her Shujin blazer, removed it, and did her best to roll up her right sleeve to show her soulmark.

“...When I was Kasumi, I briefly saw Sakamoto-Senpai’s soulmark. Well not all of it but I recognized the characters I could see as Su… my name. I was so confused at the time but I just brushed it off as our soulmates being different people with the same names. But there was always this feeling when he was nearby. I know we’ve only really just gotten to really know each other but I think I still want to give it a shot and… should I...”

Kurusu-Senpai gave her a warm smile, “Go ahead and visit him. I promise you, Ryuji will be happy to see you and I’m sure you two will make each other happy.”

Sumire could feel her face turning as red as her hair but she still put on a brave face and stood up.

“Y-yeah! Thank you, Senpai! I’ll- I’ll talk to you later!”

Before she could give herself a chance to back out, she attempted to rush out of LeBlanc. But just as she reached the door, Kurusu called out to her.

“Sumire! Wait!”

“Huh?”

She turned to see him waving his cell phone.

“You can’t exactly pour your heart out to him if you don’t know where he lives.”

Oh… right…

“Sending the address to you now. Good luck.”

“Thank you, Senpai! You’re the best!”

Now she was able to rush out of the cafe, leaving Kurusu by himself.

He let out a small chuckle before opening up the messenger app.

**AKIRA:** _ Hey. I just realized that I actually owe you an extra large beef bowl. _

* * *

Ryuji looked at the string of texts with Akira.

He doesn’t remember any recent bets they made or if he treated Akira to some lunch lately.

**RYUJI:** Dude, the hell you talking about?   
  
**AKIRA:** You’ll thank me later.

**RYUJI:** Thank you for what?

**RYUJI:** Akira.   
  
**RYUJI:** Akira answer dammit, you ain’t being cute.

That was like twenty or so minutes ago and still no answer.

Fine if Akira wanted to be an ass, he could…

But then there was knocking on his apartment door. Couldn’t be ma, she just left for work an hour ago.

He swears if it’s Akira, he’s gonna…

“H-hi, Sakamoto-Senpai. I hope I’m not bothering you, can I come in?”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

Why was she here!? WHY WAS SHE HERE!?

Ryuji tried to play the good host even as he gripped his arm, trying to ignore that damn soulmark.

It isn’t that he hasn’t thought about it. It’s been on his mind ever since they all found out the truth about Sumire. But they really really had bigger fish to fry. Like changing Doc’s heart and getting everything back to normal.

Not to mention, it felt like a shitty time to just walk up to her and say “so by the way, we’re soulmates!”

“Um, Sakamoto-Senpai? Where should I put my coat and scarf?”

“Uh just put them over the couch, it ain’t a big deal… and uh… you can just call me Ryuji.”

Heh, consider how much Ryuji really wanted to hear a cute girl call him Sakamoto-Senpai, guess he’s starting to grow up a bit.

“Okay… Ryuji… um… is your mother home? 

Ryuji had a bad feeling about this but still answered.

“She’s at work for the rest of the night.”

“Okay so...c-could we... couldwegotoyourroom!?”

...WHY DID SHE ASK THAT!?

“S-sure?”

WHY DID HE SAY YES!?

Well… too late now.

* * *

While Sumire didn’t really know Ryuji for that long, his room wasn’t too surprising.

It’s not spotless but it’s not that messy… a few trophies from his track and field days… she was kind of expecting more posters of models or idols...

...She really is just trying to think of everything except for the fact that she’s alone… with a boy… whose mother isn’t home… and he’s her soulmate… and they haven’t even shown each other their soulmarks yet.

_ Calm down Sumire, you know he’s your soulmate and Senpai believes in you. There’s no backing out now! _

With that, Sumire took a seat on Ryuji’s bed and shyly patted the spot next to her. Ryuji briefly turned red but took the offered spot.

“You probably already know why I’m here...”

“I think so… uh… so do we just roll up our sleeves at the same time or...”

“I guess that’s the best place to start.”

The two of them rearranged themselves onto the bed. Sumire quickly took off her blazer and soon enough both she and Ryuji rolled up their sleeves until their names were fully revealed. The marks seemed to almost glow after finally being shown to the other.

“Can I… can I touch it?” Sumire asked

“Sure I guess?”

Sumire got herself a little closer to Ryuji and traced the smooth looping characters, quickly recognizing her own handwriting. Ryuji let out a small shudder and she immediately pulled her hand back.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to...”

“No, no, don’t apologize! It… it actually kinda felt nice. Like a warm and fuzzy kinda nice.” Ryuji said, his face turning red and his other hand scratching the back of his head

“Uh… is it okay if I try?” He quickly asked

“S-sure.”

Ryuji’s fingers felt rough, probably from months of being a Phantom Thief, and yet… it still felt right. Sumire quickly understood what he meant by “a warm and fuzzy kinda nice.” She felt safe… she felt loved…

Before long, Ryuji pulled his hand away and he and Sumire just stared into each other’s eyes. The two leaned closer and closer to each other, their hands quickly returning to the other’s mark, and eventually they pulled each other into a kiss.

Sumire wasn’t sure if it was because of Ryuji’s affinity for lightning in the Metaverse or because they were soulmates or just this being her first kiss but she could almost feel sparks making their way from their lips to throughout her whole body.

And in an uncharacteristically bold moment, Sumire found herself wanting more and pushed Ryuji down onto the bed.

When Ryuji let out a muffled shout, Sumire seemed to realize what she just did and pulled away. Immediately she covered her burning face and apologized over and over.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I ain’t mad I was just a little surprised. Ya don’t gotta apologize.”

Ryuji wrapped his arms around her and let her lean in.

“Let’s just… take it slow okay? I’m okay with cuddles.”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

The two weren’t entirely sure where to go from here but they still stayed there in each other’s arms, enjoying the warmth.


End file.
